Abstract

Philosophy of action includes several main issues. The first issue is a conceptual issue, that is, what is an action and what is the best criterion for distinguishing it from mere physical movement. Another field of discussion related to the ontology of action discusses the differentiation of action with its different descriptions. In other words, the issue is that when the agent performs an action that is characterized by different descriptions, is there an event and action here that accepts different descriptions, or are there actions on the number of these descriptions? The third area of the philosophy of action is related to the explanation of action by appealing to the motivational and cognitive elements of the agent; Like desire, intention and belief. In this field, the discussion is about how the agent's motivational and cognitive elements explain the agent's action. Is this explanation causal or not, and if it is causal, is it nomological or anomalous? The focus of the fourth field is the issue of freedom. What is the nature of free action? If the determination of causation is true, can we still speak of free action and moral responsibility of actions or not? Among the issues of practical philosophy, the issue of free will requires a detailed discussion and an independent book; Therefore, the present book deals with only three issues among the debates of philosophers, that is, definition, individuation and explanation of action. The topic of the first chapter is the definition of action, the second chapter is the individuation of action, and the third chapter is the explanation of action. In the fourth chapter, which is dedicated to Islamic philosophy, the most important discussion of Muslim philosophers about action, i.e., the principles of voluntary action, has been raised. In this chapter, an attempt has been made to provide a coherent picture of Muslim philosophers' views on the principles of action. For this work, Ibn Sina's works have been used as a basis and the missing details have been provided from the works of other philosophers, and finally, the difference between the views of other philosophers, including Mulla Sadra, and Ibn Sina's view has been noted.